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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29774451">An Interesting Pair</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatRandomSomnia/pseuds/ThatRandomSomnia'>ThatRandomSomnia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Silent and The Dead: A Starker Love Story (With Years and Years Of Slow Burn) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, College Student Peter Parker, Ghost Tony Stark, M/M, Mute Peter Parker, Peter Parker is 18, Tony Stark is a Ghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:28:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29774451</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatRandomSomnia/pseuds/ThatRandomSomnia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It started with Peter preparing and checking his stuff at four AM, taking a shower, and getting out of the bathroom only to see a guy, four or five years older than him, holding and observing his clean, prepared boxers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Silent and The Dead: A Starker Love Story (With Years and Years Of Slow Burn) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190504</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>An Interesting Pair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I posted this on Tumblr, so I'm posting this here as well!</p><p>If you do end up liking this, thank you so much !! Really means a lot to me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It is raining outside. </p><p>Peter is fine with rain, though it does mean that his clothes will stick to him if he doesn’t protect them properly, and there’s a high chance his shoes will get dirty. Sadly, this sudden, weird change of weather has Peter asking a student he doesn’t know if he can stand under their umbrella for a bit, just to get to the covered areas of the pavement so that he can continue making his way to his dorm.</p><p>Peter is already in college. He moved out of his Aunt May’s apartment and is very far from Ned and MJ, because they all went to different colleges. He and his friends still text and call over the phone, and he has weekly calls with May, though it took him a while to answer them with all of May’s rapid-fire questions. There are some instances where he can’t talk to them due to the fact that college keeps him very busy. It’s not his fault, but that doesn’t mean that he will stop apologizing for it.</p><p>Everyone’s doing quite well, and that’s what matters.</p><p>Peter goes inside the building and glares at the elevator as it moves up. He clicks the down arrow button and waits. Knowing that he’ll be waiting for a while, he checks his phone for notifications, and is surprised to see that Ned and MJ haven’t texted, neither in the group chat nor dms. He checks his whole inbox, and is not surprised to see that Tony has texted him.</p><p>
  <em><strong>Nerdy Dork:</strong> r u here?</em>
</p><p>He smiles slightly and texts back.</p><p>
  <em><strong>You:</strong> yeah. still waiting for the elevator.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Not even a minute later, his phone buzzes again.</p><p>
  <em><strong>Nerdy Dork:</strong> oh kk. need me 2 go meet u up @ the hallway?</em>
</p><p>Peter thinks for a moment, and quickly replies with:</p><p>
  <em><strong>You:</strong> nah. ill b fine. thx tho.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The “…” text bubble appears then disappears repeatedly, which causes Peter to stare at his phone in complete confusion. This happens until he figures out what Tony is trying to say, and he quickly forms his own text, interrupting Tony. </p><p>
  <em><strong>You:</strong> Tony u dont have 2 pick up my bag again istg.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>Nerdy Dork:</strong> aww. ur no fun 😒.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>Nerdy Dork:</strong> so see u @ the dorm then? 🤨</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>You:</strong> ok. whatever lol</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Tony and Peter had met in a very awkward and chaotic way. It took them at least a day from when Peter moved into the dorm to actually introduce themselves to each other. It started with Peter preparing and checking his stuff at four AM, taking a shower, and getting out of the bathroom only to see a guy, four or five years older than him, holding and observing his clean, prepared boxers.</p><p>Peter reflexively covered his chest, and gripped the towel wrapped around his waist to keep it in place, blushing furiously. His eyes drifted from the guy and his boxers repeatedly, making the guy panic and instantly explain that he didn’t mean to be a creep, making wild gestures with his hands and dropping the clean boxers on the bed. All Peter could do at that point was stand there and turn more red than before, his heart beating rapidly.</p><p>The guy continued to explain that he didn’t know that anyone had moved into his dorm until he saw the clean clothes that definitely weren’t his.  So, curious as he was, he’d started to observe and tried to get hints of who his new “mysterious roommate” was. When the guy realized that Peter hadn’t said a word, he began to apologize about everything, including for not letting Peter talk, which ended with him stuttering out a “sorry” while trying to shut up.</p><p>Talk about first impressions. </p><p>Peter had then realized that the guy didn’t know about his disability, so he let go of his towel, fixing it again, and got both of his hands free for what he was about to do. He took a breath and began to sign.</p><p>The guy introduced himself to Peter as “Tony”, and the introduction took a while to be mutual, since Tony didn’t know anything about sign language. The only reason that he even knew Peter was mute was because they’d played a weird game of charades. Tony continued to try and decipher every sign Peter did, to no avail, so he ended up calling Peter “Bambi” instead of his real name. Peter wrote down his name eventually, but Tony seemed to like calling him Bambi more. Peter wasn’t bothered by it, so it stuck, though hearing it makes him go red to this day.</p><p>Peter’s thoughts come to a halt when he hears the familiar “ding!” of the elevator as its doors open. He steps in and presses on the button that leads to his dorm level, then sends a quick text to Tony:</p><p>
  <em><strong>You:</strong> heading up now</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Peter isn’t surprised when he instantly gets a reply. </p><p>
  <em><strong>Nerdy Dork:</strong> Ok smol bean &gt;:)</em>
</p><p>Peter gently smiles, and looks up from his phone, casually watching the numbers on the screen increase as the elevator goes higher. At this point, Peter doesn’t care about what’s going on in his phone. All he cares about is getting back to his dorm, and back to Tony.</p><p>—</p><p>Peter opens the door while carrying his heavy backpack along with him. After closing the door behind him, he can’t help but shut his eyes and sigh. Exams are coming up and for some ridiculous reason, one of his professors had the greatest idea to make everyone’s lives worse: to give everyone six pages worth of assignments.</p><p>“Hey.” A familiar male voice catches Peter’s attention, making Peter smile and open his eyes to see his dear friend, smirking at him. Peter notices how Tony immediately goes from looking smug to looking awed in a matter of seconds, before shaking it off and beaming at Peter. “How was your day?”</p><p>Peter removes his shoes and places them by the door. He then proceeds to drop his bag, letting it land on the floor, right beside the worn shoes. With his remaining energy, Peter walks over to his bed and lets himself drop on it, unintentionally releasing a content sigh as he closes his eyes and turns on his side.</p><p>“I take it didn’t go well?” Tony asks, smirking, but Peter wouldn’t have noticed it. All he gets as a response is Peter shaking his head softly and pulling the blanket to cover himself up, making Tony smile in adoration.</p><p>Peter can hear Tony chuckle softly, which makes him smile and slightly blush. The younger man silently thanks the heavens for making him bury himself in the pillow to hide his blush; otherwise, Tony wouldn’t have given this up and would have constantly brought it up in any way he could.</p><p>Peter takes a couple of seconds to think, processing what Tony just pulled and how much he’s glowing in joy right now, before he goes to respond with an annoyed sigh, followed by him burying his face in the pillow beneath him.</p><p>The older man is very much aware that when Peter doesn’t want to think about something, he wraps himself up in a blanket, hugs a pillow, and just gets comfortable. As much as Tony wants to gently tease the boy for acting like a cat, he always ends up hugging him close or giving his head some small pats instead.</p><p>Right now is no exception. As Tony gives Peter soft head pats, he hears Peter let out a content sigh before he shifts, causing the blanket to reveal some of his brown locks.</p><p>“Aww, is my angel feeling tired?” All Tony can do at that point is smile softly at the sight of Peter just being himself. </p><p>The older man fixes the blanket, making it wrap around Peter properly and comfortably, and receives a small soft hum from Peter, who is feeling very comfortable. Tony knows that he won’t get a response from Peter; he doesn’t need one, because he can tell when Peter’s happy. </p><p>Tony continues to give Peter some head pats, that later turn into soft and gentle caresses, while Peter lets himself drift off to sleep. After a while, the older man shifts and changes his position, with his back leaning on the wooden headboard, and continues to ponder for a bit.</p><p>‘My angel… What nonsense.’ Tony scolds himself, looking up at the ceiling blankly. Sometimes, he wants to smack himself in the head. Maybe then he’ll stop thinking about holding Peter’s hand, or taking him to the movies, or even going to prom with him.</p><p>Tony wishes it could be that way, but he already knows it’s no use. Peter never liked him like that, and that is already a hard pill to swallow. Even if he did, they’re both from completely different worlds. Peter deserves more than him. Peter deserves someone who he can actually talk and brag about to his friends and family, someone who can help him out in ways he cannot, and someone who he can grow old with.</p><p>Tony isn’t that somebody. He knows that, but when will he be able to accept it?</p><p>‘You really can’t hold your tongue, can you?’ Tony lets out a sigh as he closes his eyes, resting for a while and waiting for Peter to wake up from his little nap.</p><p>Tony hears Peter let out a small, disturbed noise, which makes him open his eyes instantly to check on Peter, only to discover that his hand has passed through Peter on accident. Tony quickly pulls his hand away from Peter’s body, instinctively spilling out apologies and sweet, hushed words until the younger man drifts back to sleep.</p><p>When Peter goes back to sleep, Tony sighs in relief. He leans back into the headboard and closes his eyes, with the hand that disturbed Peter in the grasp of his other, and continues to talk to himself to pass the time.</p><p>Time passes by slowly for Tony, but he doesn’t mind. The room is quiet and peaceful, and having Peter there only made things better. Peter’s soft sounds are a lullaby to him, so it is no surprise to him when he accidentally dozes off.</p><p>Later, Tony hears a shift and a small groan. He opens his eyes and looks at Peter’s blanket-coated form, only to see Peter trying to get his head out of the blankets he got himself stuck in.</p><p>“There’s my little Bambi.” Tony gently says, with his hand still holding a small part of the blanket, revealing Peter’s slightly blushing face, which is now turning into the same shade as strawberries. Peter’s eyes are wide as the blush spreads from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, making Tony struggle to stop himself from moving up to him and giving his glowing cheeks a little peck.</p><p>Tony jumps to help Peter out, pulling back a layer of the blanket only to see Peter and his pretty, doe eyes closing, readjusting to the change of light, before looking back at him. Tony can see a hint of something in his expression, but he can’t seem to pinpoint what it is.</p><p>Peter smirks and pushes Tony playfully, making the older man yelp in surprise as he hits the floor with a thud. Peter quickly gets his hands out of the blankets and proceeds to peer down at Tony with a smile. The younger man raises one of his eyebrows and starts to sign, “When will you stop calling me ‘Bambi’?”</p><p>Tony stares back at Peter’s angelic face. Messy brown locks and tired, glowing eyes. That cute, small grin he has, that body that is still cozily wrapped up in the blanket, and those glowing pink cheeks are more than enough for Tony to have to take another look at his Bambi.</p><p>‘If he keeps this up, I might just end up calling him “Angel” instead.’ Tony thinks for a moment before swiftly responding back with a chuckle, “When you admit that you are one.”</p><p>Suddenly, a pillow flies up, aiming at Tony’s face. He instantly catches it before he can get hit, and looks over  to see Peter cutely pouting with his arms crossed.</p><p>Tony stares at Peter’s pout and unintentionally says, “You’re cute, you know that?”</p><p>'Damn it!’ Tony’s face contorts in surprise and horror, as he stares at Peter with wide eyes, 'You just really can’t keep your mouth shut, can you?’</p><p>Peter stares back at Tony, cheeks gaining more color, before blinking a couple of times and raising his hands once more. 'I think you’re cute too.’ He signs before looking away from Tony and curling up, hiding his face in the layers of blankets.</p><p>’… This adorable bastard.’ Tony stares at Peter in shock then chuckles, catching the boy’s attention. “This is so gay.”</p><p>Peter instantly looks up, cheeks still red, with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. 'You think?’ He signs, his eyes shining with joy and playfulness, making the older man get up from the floor and sit back down on the bed.</p><p>Tony gets closer to Peter, making Peter freeze in shock, his eyes wide and mind running with a million thoughts, trying to figure out what Tony is going to do.</p><p>Peter feels Tony’s hand lower one of his hands onto the bed, and his other caress the side of his face, getting Peter to come back to reality and see Tony sitting very close to him, staring at him blankly. Tony says nothing as he slowly gets closer to Peter, face tilted and staring down at Peter’s red face. They stay in that position for a couple of moments, before Peter’s free hand moves and weakly holds onto the hand that is currently touching his cheek.</p><p>They look at each other’s eyes in silence, both noticing how the other’s eyes are slightly shimmering and glowing with that mysterious emotion they couldn’t pinpoint the name of. </p><p>Suddenly, Tony’s cold facade breaks and he bursts out giggling, falling back to the bed and putting some distance between himself and Peter. Peter sits there for a bit before huffing and hiding his face, feeling himself burn up, making Tony laugh and move close to Peter, hugging him. The younger man hides his face in Tony’s shoulder, playfully slapping Tony’s upper forearm in protest, before leaning into the man with a defeated sigh and hugging him back.</p><p>They’re weird guys. </p><p>But they truly do make an interesting pair.</p>
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